Rotary combustion-engine.



H. G. KRESS.

ROTARY COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. e, 1913.

1,109,341 Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

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H. G. KRBSS. ROTARY COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. a, 1913.

1,109,341, Patented Sept.1,1914.

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HENRY G. KBESS, OF MAKITOWOC,.WISCONSIN.

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. Speciiicatfon-Of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

' Application filed se tum-'8, 1918. serial in. 788,767.

To all when. it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY tary Combustion-Engine, of which the following is a specification.

This-invention relates to combustion-engines or motors, and the object which I have in view is to provide a motor, the dllVlIlg force of which acts directly upon a wheel or like rotary element and in a tangential'direction whereby the energy of the engine is applied directly to produce rotat on. According to the present.mvent1on,-I- provide a two-compartment stator, the compartments of which with ,a combustible gas and ignited, each automatically connected at the moment when the gas-mixture has been fully or immediately against a suitable receiving-elementofthe rotor. This leads to a sudden discharge of the burned mixture, which acts to placethe other compartment in condition for refillin from the cy inder any excess of burned gases, the new charge being forced in under pressure into the' closed compartment at same moment by the automatic opening of the inlet-valve thereof.

and combinations hereinafter described and particularly, set forth in my claims. For a full understanding of the principle of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings the most improved form thereof, which is described in the following specification.

In these drawings Figure 1 is a plan-view 4' of a complete plant, including my engine its operation; Fig. '2 is a front view thereof, being approximately a section on plane 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal axial section therethrough; Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the stepped plane 4; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on a-larger scale through the axis of the left-hand valve. The reference letters refer each to the same part in each figure of the drawings.

The engine comprises in general a base or frame A supporting the stator B, which is fixed thereto by cap-screws b, and having 'journaled thereon the rotor C, which is of wheel form with sleeve-like extensions 0 turning in the journals-0', c and. inclcsing are alternately filled nearly burned with an exit-port directed,

and also. practically removes the My inventionconsists of'the constructions and certain auxiliary devices necessary for.

I the concentric driving-shaft D keyed to the G. Knnss, of Manitowoc, YVisc'o'nsin, have invented a Ro-- rot'or by a key (1'. The driving-shaft D carries a pulley E for transmitting the power generated to the drivingelement, said pul- --:l ey being shown merely by way of illustration, and it will be understood, of course,- that the driving-shaft may be connected in any way whatever with the element to be drlven. i

As will be seen from the drawings, the rotor. presents an annular form, within and .m close contact with which is the stator B, which isnearly semicircular in general form, being mounted upon the pillars or pedestals a of the base. Its essential elements comprise the double combustion-chamber 6 which is centrally divided into two combustion-compartments byan upright partition wall b and by an oscillating valve F which is mounted upon the shaft G, to which it is keyed by: a key g',and is adapted to oscillate about the axis of the latter between the limiting positions shown in full and dotted lines respectively. The, wall of the chamber at the top is as shown at 12 formed concentric with the shaft G and to insure close contact with the oscillating valve F, and to prevent leakage around same, it is provided on its top-face with the springpressed packing-plate H, said packing-plate being provided with a central lug it projecting into a recess f on the upper face of the valve; and below said recess are further recesses which receive the coiled compression-springs I, which are under compression and therefore maintain close contact between the face of the packing-plate H and the face I). On the sides said valve may be grooved 'to receive packing-strips f ()nthe bottom or pivotal margin, the valve is partly sur-' rounded bythe partition if, which also actsf as an abutment to directions. In the center of the upper wall I) of the chamber are formed two ports 12 which, as shown, are more or less oblique or tangential, and it is-through these that the burned gas-mixture issues; these ports being in such position that one of them will be covered by the wear-plate H when the valve F is atone end of its travel and the other when it is at the other end of its travel.

limit its travel in both The chamber 5 is closed at the front by a X detachable head or plate J, in which is pivoted the shaft Q, and which carries also the 0 contents of the combustion-chamber.

two admission-valves K (one of which is illustrated separately in Fig. 5) and the two spark-plugs M destined for admitting the gaseous mixture and for igniting the same respectively in the respective compartments of the combustion-chamber b Said plate J is secured in place by cap-screws j.

Considering first the admission valve mechanism (see Fig. 5) there is formed in the plate J an inlet passa eway 7' which is partially surrounded by t e concentric boss i having a screw-thread j on its front end, upon which is mounted the-closure-cap j At the other end the by a plate N perforated with a number of holes n. The cap 9' and plate N are centrally bored to receive the concentric valvespindle 70, for which they serve as bearings said valve-spindle carrying on its inner end the head 70 which covers the holes a and plate N. When the valve is in normal position, as illustrated, the valve has a rotary and concomitant longitudinal movement, in other words, a helical movement, to which it is confined by the helical fin or cam-projection engaging in a corresponding recess in the plate N; so that when the spindle is is rotated (in a right-hand direction as shown in Fig. 5) the valve-head 10 will rise from its seat, opening connection between the passage 7' and-the interior of the combustionchamber 2) through the holes n; in which position the combustible gaseous mixture will pass through said holes 11. into the combustion-chamber.

mally closed, however, by means of a coiled torsion spring 0, one end of which 0 passes through a diametral hole in the spindle, and the other 0 engagesa notch in the edge of the boss 7' in which it is confined by the cap 7'. The effort of this spring is therefore left-handed as shown. As a supplementary or safety closure the stem k can also be provided with a conical valve-plug is", which in the closed position of the valve rests against the conical seat ,7. This prevents any possible back-draft of the the admission-valve on the ignition of the To as- The valve is kept norsure the simultaneous sealing of the plug k r and the head k, the former may be loose on the spindle is and confined between the end 0 of the springO and the coiled compression-spring k which abuts upon a Washer [11 resting against a pin 70 on the spindle.

' On its'outer end the spindle It" carries a cam-plate P, a pinion Q and an abutmentblock R for the coiled compression-spring S which rests against the pinion Q. The cam- ,plate P and block R are fixed to the spindle,

but thepinion Q is loose thereon. The pinion Q is supported against the longitudinal pressure of the sprin S by a bracket-arm T screwed to the plate g by screws 25 and hav passageway 7' is closed gases through.

which abuts against the inner face of the pinion. Thus it will be seen that under normal circumstances, the effort of the spring S is added to that of the spring 0 to hold the valve closed, although one acts in a tangential, the other in an axial direction.

The cam-plate P and pinion Q carry two interengaging lugs 7), 9, whose opposing faces are vertical to the direction of movement and whose opposite faces are oblique. The pinion Q meshes with the gear U which is carried on the shaft G so as to partake of the movement of the latter and to perform a partial revolution, first in one direction and then in the other, according to the direction of movement of the oscillating-valve F.

The mode of operation of this device is as follows: When the valve F performs a movement in one direction, say, to the left, as seen in Figa, this closes one of the compartments, in this case the left-hand compartmentof the combustion-chamber b and at the same time gives a right-hand turn to the two pinion's Q belonging to the respective admission-valves K. The valve illustrated in Fig. 5 represents the left-hand valve, and the effect of this turn will be that the spindle K is rotated with the pinion by means of the engagement of the two trips 9, p. As, however, the valve-stem it" is rotated it is carried inwardly by the cam-fin until finally the trip-lug p is drawn out of engagement with the trip-lug g by passing over the end of the latter, and the two springs O, S (more particularly the former) return the valve to its closed position, while the remainder of the movement of the pinion Q is lost. This lets the correct quantity of combustible gas into the left-hand compartment of the combustion-chamber, and such gas is ignited by the spark-plug acting at the proper time, thus throwing the valve F to the right. During this latter movement the left-hand pinion Q will of course be given a turn to the left, and in this case the movement will be lost upon the valve-spindle, because the oblique faces of the lugs 7), q are now in contact and the pinion Q simply yields backwardly against the spring S until the lug g has passed over the lug p, without opening the valve. This operation will thus be repeated with each double movement of the 'valve F; it being understood of course that the right-hand valve will beformed oppositely with the left-hand valve so that it opens upon the right-hand movement of the valve F and stays closed upon its left-hand movement.

The lugs j are perforated and bored to receive pipes 42' which lead from a reservoir V adapted to contain an already mixed volume of the combustible gaseous mixture used in the engine. This mixture is produced in a mixer carbureter or vaporizer WV, of any preferred or suitable pattern, which may be placed in .it will be understood, of

forms no; art ot-my inv entionr The combustible; mixture produced in the mixer W is brought to the engine by means ofa pump has a shaft w on which is a, connecting by-a belt 00 the main shaft D there- X, which pump driving-pulley w? witha pulley 01* on byxdrivm'g the pump from the engine, and

timer, whichmay be of constructions well-known;- to the art, is

adapted to pass a sparkacross the, respec 'tive spark-plugs at the proper intervals, and as'sueh arrangement is well within-the already known art it is not separately illus: trated herein. 1

The rotor C, which operates upon and around the stator Bland covers'the ports I) in the latter, is provided with tangential passages 0 each of which has an open ng .0

on the inner face and a secondopenmg c on the outer face. The shape of the passages a may be variously modified, and should be best adapted to take up the power of the gases escaping through the ports 6 and transform them into the rotation of the rotor, and theapertures 0" are intended for means of escape for the gases after they have entered the several chambers 0 Instead of the apertures 0 other relief-outlet may be provided for the gases discharged, it being understood that I do not claim any special form of impact wheels as a part of my invention.

\Vhile the form of rotor shown is deemed preferable, there are many forms with which my motor will operate and which lie within the scope of my invention.

' In order to prevent gases from escaping laterally in passing from the ports 6 to the chambers ackin -stri )S b are rovided a P z:

- strips which may be and a large part flanking the ports,

found desirable for like purpose may be provided.

An important feature of my invention is that which I have herein illustrated for con fining the gases in the combustion-compartments until they are fully burned. It will be understood that if the valve F moves with great facility, it will be pushed over immediately when the gases start to burn of the latter will be blown out of the ports 6 before being burned, thus greatly reducingthe .efiiciencyof. the engines b in the partition .b

. principles the kinetic energy of,

and any other packing To provide against: this, there the hub of-theval've F alug f whose sidefaces are oblique, said lugybeingacted on by a blockL adapted to rec procate in a recess and yieldingly presses aga nst the lug. f by a spring Z. It will seen that the pressure of the block L upon the Sldfiof the, lug; f makes considerable force necessary to start the. valve F and this fence can be adjusted by varying the strength of the. spring to counterbalance the force: developed by the gases, so that the valveshall not be starteduntil the combustion of the'gases is nearly complete. The valve R then 1s thrown over suddenly because; there is no resistance to its movement after it has once started, and the spring- -bloek'. L engages the opposite side of the af a I-have herein not further-illustrated the auxiliary devices V, V and X than by a single general lan-view. of each, because the resent invention does not include these auxliary devicesas such within its scope and theymay form the subjects of one or more separate applications.

From, the above description it will be readilyseen that my invention may assume a variety of forms all embodying thesame and that agreat number of changes and modifications are possible in the nonessentials without departing from the spirit. of my, invention, the scope of.

which isparticu'larly defined inv my claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A motor of prising a rotor adapted to tangentially receive gases escaping under pressure and transform their energy into rotary energy of the rotor, a stator comprising a combustion-chamber adapted to receive a combustible gas-mixture, a port leading fromsaid combustion-chamber .and adapted to deliver gastherefrom to said rotor, a valve for closing said port, said valve being adaptis formed .on. I

the class described com- I ed to be shifted by the increasing pressure of the burning gas on one explosion so as to open said port, and means for bringing the. pressure of a following explosion to bear against said valve in the opposite direction to return saidvalve to its position closing said port after the, gas from the first explosion has escaped. Y

2. A motor of the class described co1n prising a rotor adapted to tangentially receive gases escaping under pressurev and transform their energy into rotary energy of the rotor, a stator comprising a combustion-chamber adapted to receive a combustible gas-mixture, a port leading from said combustion-chamber and adapted to deliver gas therefrom to said rotor,- a valve for closing.;said port,zsaid valve being adapted to be shifted by the increasing pressure of the burning gas so as to open said port, means for returning said valve to its positionclosing said port after the gas has es-- be shifted by the increasing pressure of the burning gas so as to open saidport, means for returning said valve to its position closing said port after'the gas has escaped, an admission-valve adapted to admit gas to said chamber and normally closed, and

means ,actuated'by said first-named valve in its returning movement for opening said admission-valve.

4. A motor of the class described comprising a rotor adapted to tangentially receive gases escaping under pressure and transform their energy into rotary energy of the rotor, a stator comprising a combustion-chamber adapted to receive a combustible gas-mixture, a port leading from said combustion-chamber and adapted to" deliver gas therefrom to said rotor, a valve for closing said port, said valve being adapted to be shifted by the, increasing pressure of the burning gas so as to open said port, means for returning said valve to its position closing said port after the gas has escaped, an admission-valveadapted to admit gas to said chamber and normally closed, means actuated by said first-named valve in its returningmovement for opening said admission-valve, and means for forcing the combustible mixture through said admission-valve under pressure.

5. A motor of the class describedcomprising a rotor adapted to tangentiallyreceive gases escaping under pressure and transform their energy into rotary energy of the rotor, a stator comprising a com bustion-chamber adapted to receive a combustible gas-mixture, and divided into two compartments separated from one another,

there being one or more ports leading from said compartments adapted to discharge the gases therefronn an oscillating valve separating said two compartments and adapted in one of its extreme positions to close the exit of one compartment and open thatof the other, and in the other extreme position to close that of the second compartment and open that of the first, means for alternately charging the two compartments with the combustible gaseous mixture, and means for igniting said mixture alternately in the respective compartments.

(i. A motor of the class described comprising a rotor adapted to tangentially receive gases escaping under pressure and transform their energy into rotary energy of the rotor, a stator comprising a combustionchamber adapted to receive a combustible gas-mixture and divided into two compart- 'ments separated from one another, there being one or more ports leading from said compartments adapted to discharge the gases thereform, an oscillating valve separating said two compartments and adapted in one of its extreme positions to close the exit of one compartment and open that of the other, and in the other extreme position to close that of the second compartment and open that of the first, means for alternately charging the two compartments with the combustible gaseous mixture, and means for igniting said mixture alternately in the re spective compartments; said oscillating valve being driven-from one side to the other by the excess pressure of*the gases in one compartment, and having means for restraining its movement.

7. A motor of the class described comprising a rotor. adapted to tangentially receive gases escaping .under pressure and transform their energy into rotary energy of the rotor, a stator comprising a combustionchamber adapted to receive a combustible gas-mixture and divided into two compartments separated from one another, there-being one or more ports leading from said compartments adapted to discharge the gases therefrom, an oscillating valve separating said two compartments and adapted in one of its extreme positions to closethe exit of one compartment and open that of the other, and in the other extreme position to close that of the second compartment and open that of the first, a pair of admissionvalves operated by said oscillating valve, one to open when it moves to 'one side and the other to the other side, said valves being normally maintained closed at other times, and means for igniting the charges 1n the respective compartments.

8. A 'motor of the class described comprising a rotor adapted to tangentially receive ases escaping under pressure and transorm their energy into rotary energy; of the rotor, a stator comprising a com ustronchamber adapted to receive a combustible gas-mixture and divided into two compartrnents separated from one another, there beingone or more ports: leading from said compartments adapted to discharge the gases therein, an oscillating valve separating said two compartments and adapted in One-ofits extreme positions to close the exit of one compartment and open that of the open that of the first, a pair of-admissionof one compartment and open that of the Valves operated by said oscillating valve, other, and in the other extreme position to 5 one to open when it moves to one side and close that of the second compartment and the other to the other side, said valves being open that of the first, a pair of admissionigniting devices in the respective compartto open when it moves to one side an the ments, and a timing device turning with other to the other side, said valves being 10 said rotor and adapted to ignite the respecnormally mainta' ed closed at other times, tive charges at suitable intervals in the romeans for igniting the charges in the retation of said rotor. spective compartments, and means driven 9. A motor of the class described comprisby said rotor adapted to provide a supply ing a rotor adapted to tangentially receive of combustible gas-mixture to the respective 15 gases escaping under pressure and transcompartments and to force it into the reform their energy into rotary energy of the spective compartments whenever the respecrotor a stator comprising a combustiontive admission-valves are open. chamber adapted to receive a combustible In witness whereof I have hereunto set gas-mixtureand divided into two eompartmy hand in the presence of two witnesses.

20 ments separated from one another, there be- HENRY Gr. KRESS.

, ing one or more ports leading from said Witnesses:

compartments adapted to discharge the GEORGE SANDERSON, gases therein, an oscillating valve separat- ALFRED W. BEHRINGER.

other, and in the other extreme position to ing said two compartments and adaptedin' close that of the second compartment and one of its extreme positions to close the exit normally maintained closed at other times, valves operated by said oscillating valve one 

